BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Lebanon's security chief is seeking the help of Qatar in securing the release of a group of nuns who some say have been taken hostage in Syria.
Lebanese Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim traveled Saturday from Beirut to Doha, Qatar, where he said he planned to ask the Qatar government to intervene with rebel forces to secure the nuns' release.
Doha played a key role in a similar situation in October when a group of Christian pilgrims from Turkey were captured and taken hostage. They were released after Qatari officials intervened, the (Beirut) Daily Star reported Saturday.
A discrepancy remains over whether the nuns have actually been taken hostage. One of the nuns told al-Jazeera they were forced to flee their convent in the ancient town of Maaloula because of heavy shelling.
They are now in the nearby town of Yabroud, living with a Christian family.
"A group brought us here and protected us, and we're very, very happy with them," one of the nuns says in the video aired by the Qatar-based television station.
Rebel forces have denied using the nuns to try to force a trade for the release of women taken hostage by Syrian government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad.
